Tag: coal exports

Saturday July 27th, 2013, in a day-long affair involving hundreds of activists, the Portland Rising Tide and 350.org collaboration, Summer Heat, went off yesterday without a hitch.

Activists congregated in the morning at the Vancouver Landing in Vancouver, Washington, where this week port authorities approved a terminal to ship hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil carried on trains from the Bakken Shale.

Hosting info sessions about secret corporate trade agreements, direct action, and infrastructure resistance, the event carried a festive air into the early afternoon. By 3pm, around 250 activists in more than 100 boats took to the river for a symbolic blockade and massed under the Columbia Bridge.

Hundreds more activists gathered on the bridge, and three climbers repelled down with a long, transparent banner that read, “Coal, Oil, Gas: None Shall Pass.”

The crowd that came out to the protest showed that they will not be intimidated.

Police presence was relatively minimal at the protest compared to other Rising Tide and Occupy actions that have occurred. Nobody was arrested, and the message was sent: Expect Resistance.

Summer Heat was only a high point in what has been a long, hard, and in many ways successful struggle, which has seen three three proposed coal terminals shut down so far. Today, Portland Rising Tide looks invigorated, confident, and more dedicated than ever to the mission of stopping climate change.

A beautiful, moving video from the iMatter Earth Day March back in April, reminding us to love our kids, and our only home. Our children have some strong words for us to hear and honor. They depend on us to protect their future.

The children were protesting the proposal to expand coal exports through Seattle and the Northwest from 2 – 3 trains per day to 18 – 37 trains per day, so Peabody Coal can sell it as quickly as possible to Asia for the next few years. The additional CO2 emissions will more than equal the emissions from the Keystone XL pipeline if allowed.

Our PBS station created a wonderful documentary, COAL. Here’s a preview: